Cooper Flagg earns comparison to ex-Duke basketball superstar
Yesterday at 01:49 PM
The Duke basketball program has had some great players through the program, and star freshman Cooper Flagg is on his way to becoming one of the best. Flagg is expected to be the first player selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, but his career with the Blue Devils isn’t over quite yet. Duke has been the most dominant team in the NCAA Tournament so far, and they have made it to the Final Four.
Cooper Flagg still has work to do with the Duke basketball program, but once the season is over, he will likely declare for the 2025 NBA Draft. A big part of the NBA Draft is hearing player comparisons, and one Western Conference executive compared Flagg to former Duke star Jayson Tatum.
“Both of them at Duke presented really positively as guys that were going to have a couple of off-ramps to be super successful,” the exec said, according to an article from ESPN. “We’re seeing that with Flagg recently, he’s had poor shooting nights like against [Alabama in the Elite Eight], and still was super impactful [toward] winning. … People questioned both of their shots, which turned out to be a silly concern, probably. They both have really good feel offensively in a way that’s just uncommon for their size and usage.”
Jayson Tatum had a lot of success with the Blue Devils in college as his high level of play resulted in him being the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Now, Tatum is with the Boston Celtics, and he is an NBA champion. Is that in Flagg’s future as well?
“A one-and-done out of Duke, Tatum has developed into one of the NBA’s best players in his mid-20s, becoming the anchor of a championship team in 2024,” ESPN’s Jeremy Woo said. “A gifted scorer in high school, Tatum developed from a midrange player into a more well-rounded offensive option over time. Flagg and Tatum are similar, with the former listed an inch taller and both measuring with 6-11 wingspans. They were both rigid and mechanical jump shooters in high school, particularly from 3-point range.”
There are a lot of similarities between Flagg and Tatum, and we could see Flagg go on to have a similar career in the NBA.
“Tatum’s balanced, high-volume offensive profile with the Celtics shows how Flagg could grow into a similar role — particularly if his future team guides him toward high usage,” Woo continued. “Tatum has had success without being a top-flight 3-point shooter, with his percentages settling in the mid-to-high 30s on high volume, but not placing him among the league’s elite. He has expanded his passing ability over time, topping out this season with a career-high 5.9 assists per game.”
Cooper Flagg isn’t worried about all of that yet. He is two wins away from cementing his Duke basketball legacy with a national championship. Up next for the Blue Devils is one-seed Houston on Saturday night.
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